A Decree of Heroic Virtues is a judgment of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints that a Servant of God lived a life of profound union with God and fidelity to Church teaching. Theologically it witnesses to the full flowering of virtue in the person’s life, which Saint Thomas Aquinas explains occurs when the moral virtues are perfected in their operation by the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Decree is official when accepted by the Pope. When combined with the approval of a miracle at the intercession of the Servant of God the requirements for beatification have been met.